


Year One and the Philosopher’s Stone

by ShivaVixen



Series: For Want of a Master [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
Genre: Alternative Universe - Canon Divergent, Blend of books and movies, First year at Hogwarts, Gen, Harry’s plans sort of work, Quiditch happens, The more things change the more they stay the same, multiple points of view this go round
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-10-10 02:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20520215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShivaVixen/pseuds/ShivaVixen
Summary: Lords, Ladies and Gentlebeings, the official sequel to The Rules of House Elves!Harry’s first year is off to a good start, then odd things start popping up, coincidences begin to pile up and The House Elves at Hogwarts are not quite like Kreacher.





	1. The Express and The Sorting

The day they got to King’s cross, Harry’s excitement was slightly dulled by the conversation that he’d had with Aunt Andy a few nights ago.

“Not all Slytherins are bad, Harry, but many of the students now are children of death eaters and there’s no way to judge what they’ve taught their children. I would caution you against joining that house, but you should still try and make friends with the students in that house.”

“Okay.” Harry had agreed then, not really understanding.

Now, he was wishing he had asked more questions. Kreacher had come along hiding in the cart from muggle eyes. Remus and Sirius were with him, as well as Aunt Andy. 

(He still didn’t know what to call Remus... ‘uncle’ just didn’t seem to fit, and Harry preferred calling Sirius his godfather so Harry had never bothered with another title for him. It didn’t help that he rarely saw Remus compared to all the others. It was something he was trying to figure out.)

He’d only been to the station once before, dropping Tonks off before having to go back to the Dursley’s. They’d been in a hurry and he hadn’t been able to see the platform then. There was a family of redheads ahead of them, the mother positively frazzled ushering the five children to the spot.

“That’s Charlie’s family, the Weasley’s.” Sirius told him softly. “They’re a good family... you should consider making friends with them.”

“What if they don’t like me?”

“I very much doubt that, but if you’re uncomfortable you don’t have to.” Sirius ruffled his hair and Harry tried to flatten it out of mock annoyance.

He ended up grinning as, while Aunt Andy rolled her eyes, Sirius and Remus took up positions on either side of him, and together all three of them ran through the barrier.

“Wow.” Harry breathed, looking around as Aunt Andy followed.

Remus, Sirius and Aunt Andy smiled at him, Sirius gently ruffling his hair again.

Kreacher grumbled as he sat up. They still hadn’t changed the wards on the train. “Kreacher is unable to load young master’s luggage... Kreacher shall send snacks for weekends.” 

“... Kreacher, he’s going to Hogwarts not his muggle relatives, they’ll feed him there.” Sirius looked exasperated.

“I’d like that, thank you Kreacher.” Harry thanked him, then quickly loaded his things on the train, he got helped by the Weasley twins, the ones Tonks had described as little terrors who had levitated her books onto different tables while she was studying for her exams.

They were perfectly polite, though, helping him get the trunk up, only staring at him briefly before hopping off to go back to their mother.

Harry quickly went back to where he had left his family, getting a surprise as Kreacher gave him a hug before quickly apparating away with what sounded like a sob.

“Stay out of trouble.” Aunt Andy ordered with her hug, a smile forming. “And take it easy, it’s your first year, not the end of all things if you struggle with it.”

Harry nodded, and was quickly hugged again by Sirius.

“A little bit of trouble is okay, extra snacks from the kitchens while studying for example, is considered a little trouble by the rule abiding students.” Sirius quickly assured him. “Just don’t do anything dangerous.” Sirius hugged him a little tighter this time. “I love you.” Sirius’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“I love you too, Sirius.” Harry whispered back. He was reluctant to let go, but turned to Remus.

“You’ll be fine Harry, just be careful.” Remus hugged him again. “You can write me if you have any questions, no charge.”

Harry was almost reluctant to get back to the compartment, but stuck his head out to wave. His family waved back.

The little red headed Weasley girl chased after the train waving, crying and smiling. Harry waved back at her too, though he doubt she saw him.

He pulled his head and arms in, closing the window. 

“Err is anyone else in here? Everywhere else is full.”

Harry looked up to see the youngest of the four boys in the door.

* * *

Ron Weasley had initially tried to sit with his older brothers. But the prefects had their own car and the twins had vanished.

He’d wandered down the train, listening to the bragging of several kids about their blood status, one girl who was chatting the ears off some poor bloke and asking questions without waiting for answers (if he wanted that, he’d ask Percy about being a prefect) and occasionally compartments where one or two girls (and a couple of guys) had already gotten homesick, as he did not handle tears well, he ran past those compartments quickly.

He finally found a compartment near the back where just one kid was sitting, staring out the window, a white owl perched above him. He looked a little lonely, so Ron took a deep breath and asked if he could sit with him.

The boy looked surprised, but invited him in, looking at Ron as if he’d never seen another kid his age before. Ron sat down and realized he needed to say something.

Naturally, that was when Fred and George showed up, and invited him to see their friend Lee Jordan and his tarantula and there was no way he’d go with them now, he was staying in this compartment, thank you very much.

They left, but not before bluntly calling the kid Harry Potter and introducing themselves and Ron.

He’d known they’d run into Harry Potter, but he hadn’t thought he’d actually run into him! What did one say to a celebrity?!

“You’re really Ron Weasley?” Harry Potter asked, curious.

“Um, yeah.” 

“My cousin Tonks was friends with your brothers Charlie and Bill! You might have heard of her as ‘Dora’ though... are you really good at Wizards chess?”

“I’m alright, Bill’s better ... they talked about me?” Ron was baffled by this. Harry Potter knew him! 

“Tonks mentioned that Bill said you played better than her, and I’m still learning.” Harry brought out a chess set. “She gave me her chess set last Christmas. I have a lot of her old games.”

When the trolley witch came buy, Harry bought a lot of sweets, and promptly gave him some. Ron didn’t want to be a charity case and tried to convince him he was fine.

“I have sandwiches... though mum forgot I don’t like this kind.” Ron quickly tried to clarify what he meant. “Not her fault, even with Bill and Charlie out of the house she gets busy so I sorta get overlooked. I got a lot of my brother’s old things, even Bill’s old robes and Charlie’s old wand.”

And that made him sound pathetic. Ron wanted to kick himself.

“It’s alright, I get hand downs from my muggle relatives, my godfather only got partial custody so I get shuffled back and forth a lot. It’s fun, but I haven’t made friends my age because weird things happened around me so most Muggle kids avoided me.” Harry then pushed the sweets back at him. “Friends share food, don’t they?”

Ron brightened at that. “Yeah they do.” 

They played chess and ate sweets, at one point they played a game for the Xavier Rastick card that neither actually wanted, it was more an excuse to play a game.

“Barmy guy, how do you disappear while tap dancing?” Ron wondered aloud.

“I haven’t the foggiest idea.” 

“Has either of you seen a toad?” The boy that asked looked miserable, but quickly moved on when they said no.

He was followed by a girl who was helping him, and who looked shocked when Harry’s queen smashed Ron’s Knight.

“What’s that?”

“Wizards Chess, it’s a bit different from muggle chess.” Harry explained.

“I’ll say.” She sat down, and Ron checkmated Harry in the next move.

“I keep falling for that.” Harry grumbled. “You want to try a game?” He asked the girl, who shook her head.

“I think we’re supposed to get there soon. I’m Hermione Granger, by the way.”

“He’s Ron Weasley, I’m Harry Potter, nice to meet you.”

“Really? You’re quite famous you know.”

“I’ve heard ... I think my mum actually defeated Voldemort, not me personally. Makes more sense.”

Ron jerked in shock at the name, amazed that someone would say it.

“You said his name?!”

“Fearing a name of someone that’s now gone seems silly. But if it makes you feel better, I won’t use it.”

“That would make more sense.” Hermione blushed slightly at their looks of surprise. She’d obviously been thinking about Harry’s Mum being the one to beat You-Know-Who and losing her life in the process. “I better go help Neville, I’ll see you later.” She left.

Someone else entered the compartment, a pale blonde haired boy who was flanked by two larger boys. “They’re saying Harry Potter is on the train.”

Draco Malfoy is every bit like Ron’s father had described the Malfoy’s to be, entitled and attempting to manipulate others.

Harry held his ground calmly. For a moment, Ron thought he’d agree with Malfoy... only to point out that he couldn’t be friends with anyone that openly supported You-Know-Who. 

Malfoy did not take it well, and one of Harry’s knights sliced Goyle’s finger when he tried to grab some of their food.

“You know, if they asked nicely I would have given them some.” Harry shook his head as they ran out before a prefect came. “I guess he wants Slytherin?”

“Probably. I hope I’m not in Slytherin.” The twins would never stop teasing him if Ron ended up there.

“I hope I don’t get it either.” Harry gave weak smile. “I wonder how soon until we get there?”

Hermione came by to let them know they should change, before disappearing again. They both got ready and cleaned up a bit before putting the excess food away.

Somehow, when he ended up in a boat with Harry, Hermione and Neville... he had a really good feeling, like he wasn’t scared anymore even though he was still nervous. It vanished after he remembered that the twins said he’d have to wrestle a troll, though.

(When they’re all sorted, and the feast is over, Ron falls asleep happy, he has a friend, his dorm mates feel like good blokes and he was able to eat his favorite foods.)


	2. Neville Longbottom and the Missed Call to Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neville’s not up for running headlong into danger, but books he can handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble because all the major changes happen starting the second year, but I need the first year to set up some of the changes even if the first year mystery doesn’t really change.  
So, I went back to a style of writing I’d previously done, where canon events are alluded to but not gone into detail unless drastically changed.  
Neville drew the first straw, Hermoine is next and we’ll go from there.

Neville was relieved to be away from his Gran, he loved her, but he just wasn’t able to be like his dad.

He also wasn’t outgoing as his mother, he was hesitant to call his dorm mates friends.

Ron and Harry were practically attached at the hip after the sorting, Dean and Seamus had gravitated together, and Neville... was taking a while to figure out where he stood.

He knew Harry had lost his parents, he’d spotted him watching a picture of his parents dancing one night. But he didn’t want to bond over that connection. 

Harry was nice to pretty much everyone, and unlike Ron who would say something if he didn’t like someone, it was hard to tell if he was bothering Harry when he was talking to him.

The one thing they definitely did share was Professor Snape having it out for them. 

Though at least Harry knew something about the answers, Neville just kept forgetting things.

Like the first potions class, Snape asked Harry a bunch of questions, and Harry was able to answer them.

(“I helped my cousin study during the summer.” Harry explained latter. “Made up cards and everything. It was fun.”)

Neville meanwhile had his very first day in the class ending him going to the hospital wing.

Though at least his yearmates didn’t seem to mind he was so forgetful. More than once he had forgotten spare parchment, quills and ink, and promptly had spares from them passed over. 

They defended him from being picked on as well. Malfoy seemed to have it out for him after their first flying lesson. 

The blond didn’t like Harry either, but Harry just seemed bemused by Malfoy’s dislike.

Save for the one dueling at midnight thing, Harry just didn’t go after Malfoy the same way that Malfoy went after Harry.

Neville tried to be friends with Hermione, she was having trouble making friends too, but she reminded him of his gran too much. 

His desire to be friends was why he didn’t complain when the four of them were sneaking around for the duel, anything was better than waiting in the dark. 

For a brief moment, he actually felt like he was having fun with the sneaking.

Then they got chased by Filch and wound up in a room with a three headed dog-like monster. 

His desire to go sneaking about vanished after that. Neville thought Hermione was in the same boat, but apparently she was a lot braver than he gave her credit for, as several days after their encounter with the monster, he found her looking it up in a bestiary!

Neville didn’t even want to think about it, he had nightmares where the three heads swallowed Harry, Ron and Hermione while his gran scolded him for not being brave enough to save them. 

Sometimes it switched to his parents and Uncle Algie getting eaten, so he did his best to focus on school. 

Herbology was shaping to be his favorite subject as he didn’t have to talk to anyone else during class. 

He could also read the herbology books without feeling like he was being excluded from the common room activities.

“What’s that you’re reading?” Hermione looked over his shoulder, startling him.

“Night plants. Or plants that only grow in the dark or at night. They’re difficult to grow unless you have a proper environment for them.” Neville explained.

“Oh. May I borrow it after you?” Hermione looked slightly interested.

“Sure.” Neville agreed, watching her walk off with a large book she could barely carry. Maybe he should look into some of the books she liked to read and they could swap books? It would be nice to have more in common with his year mates.

When they did end up swapping books, it didn’t take long for it to become a thing. Neville always recommended Herbology books, Hermione had fairly interesting history and charms books that helped him pass his tests, and after Halloween, Harry joined the group with defense and potions books, while Ron insisted on including the Mad Muggle series so they wouldn’t ‘overwork their brains and become Percy clones that never had fun’.

His gran hadn’t allowed him to read the series before, as it was ‘too much nonsense’ that ‘had no bearing on the real world’. Harry and Hermione both got a kick out of it, giggling as they explained things that weren’t likely to happen in the muggle world.

It also had the bonus of Hermione using Hedwig to owl her parents and get several of her fictional books for them to share. Paddington Bear was Neville’s favorite of the lot. 

There was no real structure to when and how they swapped the books, as between classes not everyone kept up and once Quidditch practices started in earnest poor Harry was often found sleeping on the books he had borrowed for reading, but it was fun to do something that was not always school related. Hermione’s muggle books ended up being a permanent addition to the common room.

(Eventually Ron and Hermione ended up having an argument about the difference between muggle and magic books. Harry and Neville chose to ignore them and continued to read the Wind in the Willows without them. This in turn lead to the twins getting ahold of the Roald Dahl books and Percy attempting and failing to ban the muggle books from the common room.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neville is the one that teaches Hermoine about Devil’s snare, there’s also a seed planted here that will grow through the rest of the books.
> 
> I’m kinda enjoying not having to be exclusive to Harry’s POV, but be warned that inconsistent narratives may occur. (As characters only have a limited view of what everyone else is doing)


	3. Hermione Granger and the Magic of Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione wants friends and not just the ones that ask for homework answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 9/16/19: so apparently my autocorrect decided that Hermione was spelled her-moi-ne ... my bad, I didn’t double check before posting. 
> 
> I’ll fix the first two chapters as well, so ... thanks to the two people who pointed it out!

Hermione Granger had been having strange things happening around her since she was little.

Nothing major, compared to some stories, but enough that the kids at school avoided her as much as possible. 

Once, when she’d wished for school to end so she wasn’t continuously teased for being a know it all that day, the fire alarm and the sprinklers had gone off. The faculty was convinced someone had pulled the alarm, but couldn’t find the culprit and it was eventually written off as faulty wiring.

(Hermione never admitted that she had been fantasizing pulling the alarm.)

Another time she had been in the waiting room of her parents’ office when one of the girls that teased her entered with her mother. Not wanting to be in the room with her, and thinking of the fire alarm, the small waste bin in the waiting room had caught fire.

Hermione was scared after that. Something about her was as weird as the girls in her class claimed she was.

She’d never gotten into trouble, though, after all, she was quiet and well behaved with the teacher’s approval of how grown up she was.

She was considering how to convince her parents into not sending her to school and taking classes at home, seeing as she was tired of not having friends that didn’t try to use her.

So when her letter came along with Professor McGonagall to explain it, it had been a relief. There was a reason for the things that had happened around her, and she wouldn’t be attending a school with the same kids again so she might actually make friends.

Professor McGonagall had showed them to Diagon Alley and Gringott’s and assured them that now that they knew where it was they would be able to return.

Hermione had read all her textbooks, as well as a book about her school that Professor McGonagall had suggested if she wanted to know more about it. (Plus a few other books she’d found on a recommended reading list for muggle borns.)

She couldn’t use her wand until she was on the train, but that didn’t stop her from practicing the movements with her utensils, her tooth brush, as well as her pencils and pens.

It was fun, and her parents were amused by her enthusiasm.

But as amazing as Hogwarts was ... she just seemed doomed to not make friends. Lavender and Parvati were nice, but they were interested in fashion and the latest musicians.

It was frustrating, so she tried to make friends with the boys, but while Seamus and Dean were polite and she could talk to them for a bit, then it went to sports and she lost interest. She took out Quidditch through the Ages to try and keep up, but she wasn’t able to make friends with them.

Neville was nice, he sort of floated between the groups of their year mates as well but he seemed fine with not really connecting to others. He didn’t seem to want to spend time with her though, and she couldn’t get him to talk to her without tripping over his words or he’d just agree with whatever she said.

(Eventually, he started recommending books to read, and that helped a lot.)

Harry and Ron though ... Harry never told her to leave or made her feel unwelcome, his breaking the rules was a problem but he’d initially gone after Malfoy for bullying Neville.

He was also interesting. Despite being famous he was remarkably down to earth. 

Ron was rude and almost exactly like the boys at school growing up, but he’d argue with her and he’d correct her on various aspects of how the wizarding world worked.

She’d probably read to much into their interactions, she should’ve known that she’d be unable to make friends. 

That didn’t make it any easier to deal with Ron calling her a nightmare.

So, Hermione did the only thing she could do after stressing over school work and trying to make friends for eight weeks straight ... she cried her eyes out.

Lavender and Parvati did check on her, but didn’t stay long. 

By the time she stopped crying, it was late, so she decided to head to bed after splashing her face.

The fact it smelled like one of the toilets had backed up was also a factor.

Looking back, she probably should have heard the troll and stayed hidden, but she’d been too wrapped up in wondering if she could transfer houses to pay any attention to her surroundings until it made a loud grunting sound.

It smashed the stalls with its club and she screamed. Her mind supplying what would that club do to her if it hit her. She’d be lucky if it killed her outright. 

Her back hit the far wall, and then... it turned away from her. Ron was yelling at the troll and Harry was there, trying to pull her with him.

Hermione’s legs wouldn’t work. She wasn’t dead, but her brain was supplying all the ways she could be and oh god it was swinging the club back and Ronwasgonnadie ... Harry ran at the troll, and Hermione could only watch as he and Ron defeated the troll.

There was no way she could tell her parents about this. 

But after that... Ron and Harry were her friends. They invited her to play games and listened to her when she suggested they finish their homework first. They joined in with recommending books even though Ron’s were more like comics.

She taught Harry how to repair his glasses, and Ron was easily fascinated by ‘muggle stories’, like what primary schools were like. Neville joined Ron in explaining how most wizarding families homeschooled or hired a tutor prior to turning eleven.

Harry also introduced her and Ron to a Professor Lupin via Owl Post, and he was more than willing to answer her questions.Neville was a little less willing to do so, as he didn’t want his Gran to find out he was owling a tutor.

Hermione didn’t think much of Neville’s Gran, but held her tongue.

Just like she held her tongue as they went to the kitchens for some snacks for studying one Sunday afternoon.

“What the?” Hermione stared at the creatures that were running around.

“House Elves. They’re creatures that attach themselves to a house and take care of it in exchange for protection.” Harry explained. “Or that’s how I understood it, um, excuse me?” He addressed an elf that was stirring a pot. “May we have some snacks, please?”

“Of course!” The elf chirped, and some healthy snacks along with cakes were brought to them quickly with several bows. They quickly filled up and left with several thanks on their part and bows on the part of the house elves.

It bothered Hermione, but she couldn’t say why it did.

“My godfather’s family has a house elf, he looked after me when my muggle aunt and uncle didn’t. They’re nice if you’re nice to them.” Harry explained later in the common room. (Neville was busy with transfiguration homework he’d forgotten, so they dropped off some snacks for him and then went to sit and work on Charms.)

“I haven’t read anything about them, though.” None of the books she read mentioned House Elves. 

“That’s because most pure bloods don’t like treating them as people.” Ron explained. “It’s nonsense really, like Harry said, the elves enjoy having people to look after, so being able to work at Hogwarts where they can look after students is an ideal job for them.”

“Okay... something about it doesn’t feel right though. They’re all really cheerful...”

“Kreacher isn’t. He’s grumpy a lot, usually when I try to help him clean or get in his way while he’s cooking. He and Sirius, my godfather, don’t always get on either.” Harry chuckled. “But he does care about us, even though he thinks we’re crazy for for suggesting he takes a day off- he actually told us that he’d only ever consider it if he began loosing his mind and then wouldn’t make us our favorite desserts for a week to prove his point.”

“He sounds like a nutter.” Ron commented around the cake he’d shoved in his mouth.

“Nah, just particular about how to take care of things. He’s the one that sends the snacks in my care packages.”

“So ... They’re okay?” Hermione asked. “They’re not being taken advantage of?”

“They’re fine Hermione, if there was a problem, they’d probably go to the Headmaster and he’d help them sort it out. Just be polite if you see them and don’t insult them by saying that cleaning is a bad job- they’re really prideful about things we consider low and boring.”

“... can I meet Kreacher?” 

“Sure. Kreacher? If you’re not busy I’d like to introduce you to my friends!” Harry called out, and Hermione almost spilled her ink at the sound that followed.

The house elf that appeared was much older than the ones she’d seen earlier, and immediately looked at Harry grumpily. “Young Master needs to stop with polite requests, Kreacher is sure he’ll be saying the same way if he was injured and sick!” 

“Sorry Kreacher, anyway, this is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley! Guys, this is Kreacher.”

“Hullo.”

“Hello.” Kreacher shook his head at the table of snacks. “Kreacher will be adding snacks for friends.”

“You don’t have to, if it’s a problem.” Hermione tried to object, but she couldn’t remember what she wanted to ask the house elf.

“No problem miss, Master Sirius and Master Harry keep forgetting I have spare time after cleaning the house since they are not living there all the time.” Kreacher then poked Harry in the ribs. “Master Harry is too scrawny still, horrible muggles not giving him enough food to grow.” Kreacher then poked her and Ron in the ribs. “You is both much healthier. Kreacher will make sure snacks are healthy as well.” 

“Thanks, Mr. Kreacher.” Hermione flushed a little. He reminded her of her grandparents, they liked fussing over her eating habits as well.

“Don’t be calling me ‘Mister’, Miss, Kreacher is just Kreacher.” He informed her grumpily. “Kreacher will be planning proper snacks now.” 

“Thanks Kreacher, see you later!” Harry thanked him and with a smile to Harry Kreacher vanished.

“He’s like a grumpy grandfather isn’t he?” Hermione felt better about the existence of House Elves, especially since Kreacher had scolded Harry. 

“He always sneaks a vegetable dish in for us to eat. I think he’s been looking at muggle cooking shows as well, Sirius found a way to set up a Telly for him to watch last summer- electronics don’t always work well in wizarding households but Sirius really wanted to try.”

“How’s it work?” 

“About once a month. He’s still working on it since the house has muggle repellents on it and he can’t have them install it normally.”

(Tomorrow, they’ll go down to Hagrid‘s and learn about Flamel. They’ll get so caught up in the mystery that Hermione won’t think too much about House Elves until next year.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hermione is uneasy about the elves, but she’s assuming based on Hogwarts and Harry that things are okay. She’ll learn more next year, but won’t start her crusade until fourth year.
> 
> I had to do the my little pony reference, sorry(not really)


	4. The Weasley Twins and the Art of Pranking

The grand and honorable tradition of pranking had several rules.

Always be original.

Always be funny.

Don’t hurt anyone beyond repair. (That had been added after their misadventure with Ron and the Unbreakable Vow. Accidents were, in general, unavoidable)

Now, between the two twins, George was a little better at planning things so that no one got hurt. Fred tended to be the reason why things exploded.

And as much as they enjoyed a good laugh, they also knew how to play to an audience.

First years were often homesick, so what better way to show off the magic they’d learn by making technicolor bubbles in the halls, or showing them a shortcut to classes that occasionally wasn’t actually a shortcut but had them seeing the amazing views of Hogwarts?

They mostly left second years alone, since they couldn’t fight back yet, but their year and up? Fair game.

(The downside was that Angelina’s favorite retaliation was using a sticking charm on their things.)

So holidays were times to plan and stock up at Zonko’s (and they were loving Hogsmeade weekends, wonderful breaks in monotony that they were). 

Now, they didn’t know much about Harry’s family life, but they did know that he’d decided to stay at Hogwarts for the first year, which was wonderful for Ron who they knew needed a friend. But it was obvious that he briefly second guessed his decision, so Fred and George did what they did best- make jokes about their mum worrying they’d forget their names.

The happy look on Harry’s face at getting a sweater from their mum was almost painful to look at. 

Now his godfather was clearly a man after their heart, he sent Harry catnip mice ‘to distract Mrs. Norris if she starts stalking you.’ as well as something else that Harry stopped Ron from revealing. 

His muggle relatives apparently didn’t send him anything.

His witch cousin sent him a wand holster that attached to his belt, and his witch Aunt sent him gloves. His wizard uncle sent him a book titled ‘James and the Giant Peach’ that they recognized as being from the author of several muggle books Hermione had brought to school that she and Ron had argued over. (Apparently she had been missing it.)

Really, they should know better not to give pranksters ideas. 

“Engorging charm isn’t that stable, we’d have to make supports as we went ...” George muttered as he read the book, Fred started practicing on an apple. It exploded.

“Can’t do it too fast either.” Was Fred’s opinion. “Chocolate fountain might be easier.” 

“Hmm.” George agreed.

Save for the occasional joke, Christmas was a prank free day. (It was very hard to beat the Christmas crackers, after all.)

Ron and Harry were secretive the next few days, and Harry seemed to develop homesickness again. Fred once again tried to enlarge a fruit, this time an orange, and while he got it to head size it quickly ... Percy ended up in the crossfire.

They passed it off as homework, which they did without having to be told, thank you very much.

They also managed to convince Madam Hooch to let them on the pitch to fly.After that jinx incident, George wanted to be able to make sure he and his brother could see where the little guy was- he was tiny and fast and it had given them both heart attacks when his broom tried to throw him off. (It was so easy to imagine Ron or Ginny in the same position, and it wasn’t too hard to sneak Harry snacks as an apology)

Harry perked right up, and George started teaching him more complicated moves while Fred showed off for Ron. Madam Hooch even supervised a short match (quaffle only, no bludgers) between the four of them. 

Professor McGonagall met them as they walked back to the school, ushering them in for hot cocoa.

They also tagged along with the two boys on one visit to Hagrid’s, and discovered that should they ever need a catapult, the rock like cakes would make excellent ammunition.

By the time the Christmas holidays were over and everyone returned, Fred and George could make fruit as big as a quaffle without it exploding.

(Percy was not amused, but he started being a Killjoy their second year, so it was rather expected.)


End file.
